Thank goodness for the appearance of the new season stinging nettles…
It happened before but years ago, but only in the dim and distant past, Lynher Dairies Cheese Company ran clean out of the vital ingredient that makes Cornish Yarg total special and totally unique – the stinging nettle.
The nettle leaf is used to cover the cheese creating a natural, delicious and entirely edible rind. Over 3500 kg of nettle leaves are required to make Yarg Cornish Cheese each year. “The nettles would ordinarily start coming through at the beginning of March and by mid March we would be picking,” says Catherine Mead, a director of Lynher Dairies Cheese Company. “However this year the nettles are really really slow to come through – and here we are in mid April and they are still too small to pick.” Next week the pickers will go out in force (a force of 20 infact) and pick the now reasonable sized and beautifully bright green leaves. It is of course a labour of love, each leaf individually picked, no stems or stalks, no holes or debris and not a sun scorch mark insight and all this to a specific, fairly large size.
All the nettles are picked locally in West Cornwall and perform the critical function of attracting the natural moulds that enable the maturing of the Yarg Cornish Cheese. A delicate white bloom appears following the pattern of the leaf. As the cheese matures the nettle retains a slightly mushroomy aroma and a delicate taste not so different from spinach.
Increasingly the benefits of nettles are talked about, the beneficial properties to sufferers of arthritis and the splendid detoxing affect on the body. “At Lynher Dairies Cheese Company we are proud to use a product that is so natural, wholesome and good for us, food that nature intended”.
